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Reading all the problems that people have had with their diagnoses, I feel
very lucky, and I thought that I would share my experience with others.  I do
not have CD, but my 4.5-year-old daughter does.  Around the age of 19 months
she became ill and started throwing up.  Older relatives said it's OK; babies
just throw up.  I called our pediatrician and he said that throwing up is not
normal and he would see her.  He took some blood tests, all of which came
back negative.  There was only one clue.  The technician who read the blood
test results said he thought that he saw something that t meant a problem
with wheat.  The pediatrician thought that lactose intolerance was more
likely, so we put my daughter on a lactose-free diet.  It didn't help, and by
this time, about 1 month later, she was losing weight, had a bloated belly,
and was a very quiet child.  The pediatrician then arranged for a GI series.
 When he got the results, he told us that he was not sure what was wrong, but
that he believed it was gastrointestinal.  He immediately arranged for us to
see a pediatric gastroenterologist at the local children's hospital; this
took some effort on his part as this specialist has a long waiting list for
appointments.

Within a couple of days, we were visiting the pediatric gastroenterologist.
 She took about two minutes to look at my daughter, and then turned to me and
said:  "Are you Irish?"  We're not, but we do kind of  look Irish, and I've
been asked this before.  When I said no, the doctor said, OK, but I'm about
98% sure that your daughter has celiac disease.  She did scare us a bit by
telling us all the other things that it could be, but she kept reiterating
that she was quite sure that it was CD.  She immediately arranged for the
biopsy, and within another couple of days, we had the diagnosis.

The pediatric gastroenterologist gave my daughter some medication for the
sore esophagus she had from throwing up, explained the GF diet, told us about
CSA, referred us to a dietician, and told us to put my daughter on a
lactose-free diet for a short time to allow her gut to heal.

Through our whole experience, we found everyone to be quick and thorough in
their work, and it seems, we got a very quick diagnosis.  The only person who
didn't know what she was supposed to was the dietician.  By the time we saw
her, I had already gotten good information from the CSA, and I knew that she
was not providing us with the best info, so we never saw her again.

Within a few days of going GF, my daughter was a happy lively child again.
 After a couple of months on the lactose-free diet, we reintroduced milk
products with no problem.  The whole family has adjusted to my daughter's
diet, and baking has become a hobby that I greatly enjoy (and by all
accounts, others enjoy the results).

Sorry to be so long with my story, but I've been lurking on the list for a
while, and I thought that we should remember that there are a lot of very
good doctors out there.  I greatly appreciate all the information and hints
that all of you have shared.  They've helped me a lot to provide a healthy
balanced diet for my daughter.

Happy holidays!

Evelyn